Soriot also told the newspaper that countries like the United Kingdom, they were quicker than the European Union to finalize their orders, which means that the pharmaceutical company was unable to give the bloc a firm commitment to its delivery schedule. The “head start” also gave AstraZeneca’s UK operation more time to address the type of supply chain problems that now affect deliveries in the EU, said the CEO.
“We also had initial problems like this in the UK supply chain. But the UK contract was signed three months before the European vaccine agreement. So with the UK, we had an extra three months to fix all the problems we were experiencing. As for Europe, we are three months late in correcting these flaws, “he said.
EU officials now threaten to tighten control over vaccine exports, and Italy has warned that it can take legal action. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen increased pressure on pharmaceutical companies on Tuesday, saying the bloc “means business”.
“Europe has invested billions to help develop the world’s first Covid-19 vaccines, to create a truly global common good. And now companies must comply. They must honor their obligations,” she said during a virtual meeting of the World Economic Forum. .
Initial problems
Soriot presented his defense in an interview with La Repubblica and other major European newspapers.
“Would I like to do better? Sure. But, you know, if we deliver in February what we plan to deliver, it won’t be a small volume,” said Soriot. “We are planning to deliver millions of doses to Europe, it is not small.”
The European Union has ordered 300 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which can be approved for use later this week, with an option to purchase an additional 100 million. In a statement on Wednesday, AstraZeneca said it would provide “tens of millions of doses” in February and March, once the vaccine is approved for use in the European Union.
But in his interview with La Repubblica, Soriot also highlighted crucial differences in the agreements the company has with the United Kingdom and the European Union.
“The contract with the UK was signed first and the UK, of course, said ‘you supply us first’, and that’s fair,” he said. Three months later, when the European Union intended to be supplied “at about the same time” as the United Kingdom, AstraZeneca was unable to make that commitment.
“Our contract [with the European Union] it is not a contractual commitment. It is the best effort. Basically, we said that we will do our best, but we cannot guarantee that we will succeed. In fact, to get there, we are a little late, ”he said.
AstraZeneca said in its statement that it has built more than a dozen regional supply chains to produce its vaccine, collaborating with more than 20 partners in more than 15 countries.
“Each supply chain was developed with contributions and investments from specific countries or international organizations based on supply agreements, including our agreement with the European Commission,” said the company.
“As each supply chain has been configured to meet the needs of a specific agreement, the vaccine produced from any supply chain is dedicated to the relevant countries or regions and makes use of local manufacturing whenever possible.”
Political storm
But European governments are demanding responses to delays, pointing out that the success of their vaccination efforts depends on the private sector.
“On the one hand, we can only salute the result of science, and on the other hand, they have a monopoly and we are totally dependent,” Belgian Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke said on Saturday. “There may be production problems, but these uncertainties and announcements make it very difficult to organize the campaign.”
EU Health Commissioner Stella Kyriakides said on Monday that the bloc will now demand “full transparency regarding vaccine exports” from the European Union.
“In the future, all companies that produce Covid-19 vaccines in the EU will have to provide advance notification whenever they want to export vaccines to third countries. Humanitarian deliveries are not affected by this,” she said on Twitter.
German Health Minister Jens Spahn said the controls are not aimed at putting the “EU first”, but at ensuring that Europe gets its share.
“In my opinion, it makes sense to have an export limit, which means that vaccines that leave the European Union have a license to know what is being produced, what is leaving Europe, where it is going to have a fair distribution “he told the German broadcaster ZDF.
Soriot said he understood the frustration.
“Governments are under pressure. Everyone is getting a little angry or thrilled about these things. But I understand why the Commission is managing the process for the whole of Europe,” said the CEO.
“As soon as we can, we will help the EU,” he added.
The European Commission did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Soriot’s interview.
– Saskya Vandoorne contributed reporting.